NMMA to drop MAATS
By IBI Magazine
The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) today said it was discontinuing the Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show (MAATS), which was scheduled to run next summer in Las Vegas. The US trade association said that MAATS would be incorporated into the 2010 edition of IBEX as an aftermarket pavilion. "After examining the existing and future landscape of the show with the MAATS Planning Committee and evaluating feedback from exhibitors, it was clear the industry would be best served by combining MAATS with IBEX," said Ben Wold, NMMA's executive vice president of shows, in a statement. "This is a welcome change, as it will improve efficiency in the marine trade show environment." Many longtime exhibitors at MAATS had complained that the show had lost its relevance, and that a single accessories and equipment trade show was preferable. Wold told IBI that MAATS had failed to gain a "critical mass" by the end of its seven-year run. "The big manufacturers who have a 12-month relationship with their distributors and retailers really didn't need MAATS," he said. "One trade event for OEM and aftermarket parts and accessories will create a more productive environment, reduce exhibitor costs and time and attract a broader base of attendees to the show." The IBEX show committee, added Wold, had not decided whether exhibitors in the aftermarket pavilion would still have access to the supplier meetings that made MAATS popular among new exhibitors. Carl Cramer, publisher of Professional BoatBuilder magazine, which co-owns IBEX with NMMA, estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of IBEX's current exhibitors also sell aftermarket products. He wasn't sure how many would have two booths at IBEX. IBEX also created a new pavilion and seminar series called Dealer Development Days, in which boatbuilders will have 30ft x 30ft booths. "It's a way that boat builders can service their current dealers and find more if they are looking for them," Cramer told IBI. "But it won't dilute the focus of the show. IBEX will always be centered on boatbuilding technology."
So after nine years the US industry will return to the single trade show concept which it had previously enjoyed in the form of the International Marine Trades Exhibit and Convention (IMTEC). This hugely successful and popular show was pioneered in Detroit and moved to McCormick Place in Chicago and on to Orlando during a 40-year run. At its peak the show boasted 1,200 exhibitors and more than 45,000 trade visitors from over 60 countries.
(3 September 2009)
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